Oil prices head north on a drawdown in American crude stocks

On Thursday, crude prices demonstrated gains during early Asia trade, due to the ongoing drawdown in American crude stocks, though the surge in gasoline shares is holding prices under pressure.

In New York, September delivery sweet, light crude futures were worth $45.88 per barrel, showing a $0.28 surge during the Globex electronic session. Meanwhile, September delivery Brent crude futures in London surged $0.20, hitting $47.37 per barrel.

Prices gained a boost after the US Energy Information Administration data published on Wednesday indicated the country’s oil stockpiles contracted by approximately 2.3 million barrels by July 15, thus marking the 9th straight week of reduction. Nevertheless, at 519.5 million barrels, American crude inventories still remain at historically high levels for this time of 2016.

The data also demonstrated gasoline shares surged by approximately 900,000 barrels the previous week and they’re above the upper limit of the average range.